Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core and author of Acts of Faith, writes a regular column for the “On Faith” section of the Washington Post. In a recent post, he describes a meeting with 3,000 young people at the United Church of Christ’s national youth event. At one point, he asked those present:

“How many of you know someone from a different religion personally – a Jew or a Muslim or a Hindu?”

Almost every hand in the room went up.

This is the new reality in this country where individuals will not only have to ponder what it is to be a good Christian, but how to be Christian in a society that includes Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and those of no faith at all. Patel reminds us of the prophetic words of comparative religions scholar Wilfred Cantwell Smith, who wrote in his book The Faith of Other Men that “The religious life of mankind from now on, if it is to be lived at all, will be lived in a context of religious pluralism.”

Patel offers some resources and guidance for those who want to engage with this new Interfaith Generation in productive ways. Take a look!